Discussion
I ran this past a friend who is both an accountant and a Magistrate (on the supplemental list as he is fond of stressing).
Even he had difficulty in reconciling the way he would treat it as an accountant with his opinion as a Magistrate.
By accepting that it is a legitmate expense which can be paid by an unconnected third party, albeit one which would not be allowed in the computation of a company's Corporation Tax liability, one would have to accept that a fine is no longer a punishment but a simple revenue gathering exercise.
Even he had difficulty in reconciling the way he would treat it as an accountant with his opinion as a Magistrate.
By accepting that it is a legitmate expense which can be paid by an unconnected third party, albeit one which would not be allowed in the computation of a company's Corporation Tax liability, one would have to accept that a fine is no longer a punishment but a simple revenue gathering exercise.
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